Winter 2010/2011 - USS Natoma Bay CVE-62

Transcription

Winter 2010/2011
Newsletter of the ESCORT CARRIER SAILORS & AIRMEN ASSOCIATION, INC.
ESCORT CARRIER SAILORS & AIRMEN ASSN.
2037 MEADOW LAKE COURT
NORFOLK, VA 23518
Non-profit
U.S. Postage
PAID
Norfolk, VA
Permit #360
Charles Howse, Editor
USS Santee, Bogue, Mission Bay, Croatan
The CVE PIPER is published
bi-monthly by the ESCORT CARRIER SAILOR
& AIRMEN ASSN., INC.
And is mailed by non-profit Veterans Permit from
Norfolk, Virginia
Send DUES & CHANGE OF ADDRESS to:
Ralph Magerkurth
Membership Chairman
13114 Blue Bonnet Drive
Sun City W., AZ 85375
623-628-9589
Email: [email protected]
Send DONATIONS to:
Bob Evans, Treasurer
1649 Glen Hill Drive
Lewisville, TX 75007-2778
817-798-2369
Send items for PUBLICATION to:
Charles Howse
2037 Meadow Lake Court
Norfolk, VA 23518
757-855-6663
CVE PIPER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
LEGAL CONSEQUENCES
Some members are sending clippings from
newspapers, magazines and books, with a request
that we print them in the CVE Piper.
You must get written permission from the
source of the article (writer, publisher, photographer, etc.) Before we can legally reprint these
articles or pictures.
We have been advised that this written permission must be in our possession in case of a law
suite which can have substantial penalties for our
Association.
ERROR AVOIDANCE
Many past submissions to the CVE Piper were
hand written, and some were difficult to read by
our printers who are not familiar with Escort Carrier names and Navy terminology. The publisher
had to guess. As a result, the editor received
numerous letters pointing out the errors.
All future letters submitted for publishing must
be typed or clearly printed, This may cause
problems for some of you, but it will improve the
quality of the Piper.
Joseph W. Bennett, President (Joyce)
USS Corregidor CVE-58
2464 Sandrock Road
Eden, NY 14057-9574
Phone: 716.474.1670
Term 2013
Ralph Magerkurth, Membership (Jane)
USS Sangamon CVE-26
13114 Blue Bonnet Drive
Sun City West, AZ 85375-2537
Phone: 623.628.9589
Fax: 623.584.4794
Term 2013
Charles Howse, Vice President (Betty)
USS Santee, Bogue, Mission Bay, Croatan
Editor, CVE Piper
2037 Meadow Lake Court
Norfolk, VA 23518
Phone: 757.855.6663
Term 2011
Bob Evans, Treasurer (Janet)
USS Sangamon CVE-26
1649 Glenhill Lane
Lewisville, TX 75077-2728
Phone: 817.798.2369
Term Committee Appointment
(Not a Governor)
BOARD
OF
GOVERNORS
George Manik, Secretary (Barbara)
USS Sangamon CVE-26
50 North Island Drive
Bayville, NJ 08721
Home Phone: 732.269.0866
C-Phone: 732.269.6767
Fax: 732.269.6696
Term 2012
John W. Smith (Pauline)
USS Salamaua CVE-96
7268 NW 16th Street
Ankeny, IA 50023-8823
Home Phone: 515.289.1467
Fax: 515.289.8408
Term 2012
Will you assist us and increase our membership?
If you have any names of shipmates who you think might be interested in joining our Escort Carrier Sailor &
Airmen Association, please send them to me, or email me and I will send them a CVE Piper.
“Mage” Magerkurth
Shipmate
CVE:
13114 W. Blue Bonnet Drive
Sun City West, AZ 85375
Address:
Phone: 623-628-9589
City:
ST:
Zip:
ESCORT CARRIER SAILORS & AIRMEN ASSOCIATION MEMORIAL
DONATION (BONDED) TREASURER, JOHN W. SMITH, 7268 NW 16TH ST,
ANKENY, IA 50021-8823 INCORPORATED IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF
VIRGINIA, IRS CLASSIFICATION 501-19 I.D. Number 54-1599146
Donor Last Name
Address
Donor First Name
City
St
Zip
Ship or Squadron you served in
Memorial Donations are Tax Deductible under ECSAA’s IRS Classification 501C-19
Check Number
Amount $
Date
CVE Piper - Winter 2010/2011 - Page 2
USS CORREGIDOR
General Characteristics:
Awarded: 1942
Keel laid: December 17, 1942
Launched: May 12, 1943
Commissioned: August 31, 1943
Decommissioned: July 30, 1946
Reactivated: May 19, 1951
Decommissioned: September 4, 1958
Builder: Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., Vancouver, Wash.
Propulsion system: four boilers
Propellers: two
Length: 512.5 feet (156.2 meters)
Flight Deck Width: 108 feet (32.9 meters)
AUGUILLA BAY was launched as CORREGIDOR on 12
Beam: 65 feet (19.9 meters)
May 1943 by Kaiser Co., Inc., Vancouver, Wash., under a
Draft: 22.6 feet (6.9 meters)
Maritime Commission contract; sponsored by Mrs. J. Hal-
Displacement: approx. 10,400 tons full load
lett; reclassified CVE 58 on 15 July 1943 acquired by the
Speed: 19 knots
Navy 31 August 1943; and commissioned the same day,
Catapults: one
Captain R. L. Bowman in command.
Aircraft: 28 planes
Armament: one 5-inch L/38 gun, 16 40mm guns, 20 20mm guns
Clearing San Diego 26 October 1943, CORREGIDOR
Crew: 860
joined Carrier Division 24 at Pearl Harbor for air strikes in
History of USS CORREGIDOR:
the Gilbert Islands invasion from 10 November to 6 Decem-
Embarked Squadrons
ber. She returned to San Diego to undergo repairs and load
Period
Squadron (Aircraft)
aircraft and men, then resumed operations out of Pearl Har-
July 1943
VC-41 (11 F4F and 6 TBF)
bor with her division. From 22 January to 3 March 1944,
November - December 1943 VC-44 (16 FM and 12 TBF)
she sailed in the Marshalls operation, providing air cover for
the invasion of Kwajalein.
January - February 1944
VC-44 (6 FM, 3 F4F and 11 TBF/TBM)
March 1944
VC-41 (12 FM, 3 F4F and 10 TBF/
TBM)
CORREGIDOR put to sea 11 March 1944 for Guadalcanal,
VC-41 (14 FM and 12 TBM)
to provide air cover for the landings on Emirau Island, re-
July - August 1944
November - December 1944 VC-83 (FM and TBM)
January - May 1945
VC-42 (FM and TBM)
arriving 21 March. With the 3rd Fleet, she sortied 30 March
turning to Port Purvis, 14 April. Two days later, she sailed to
join the 7th Fleet for air operations at Hollandia between
continued on page 4
USS CORREGIDOR ........22 and 26 April, then put
Pearl Harbor to San Diego to return homeward-bound service-
in to Manus Island for replenishment and antisubmarine patrols
men. CORREGIDOR cleared San Diego 18 January 1946 for
until 4 May. Embarking Commander, Carrier Division 24, for the
Norfolk arriving 4 February. Here she was placed out of commis-
Marianas operation, CORREGIDOR provided combat air patrols
sion in reserve 30 July 1946.
and antiaircraft support for the invasion of Saipan from 15 to 25
June, accounting for at least eight enemy planes. She covered the
Recommissioned 19 May 1951, CORREGIDOR was assigned to
logistics force off Eniwetok from 1 to 3 July, then aided in the
operate with the Military Sea Transportation Service. She ferried
softening up bombardment of Guam and provided air cover for
men, aircraft and aviation cargo to NATO nations under the Mutu-
the invasion until 28 July,
al Defense Assistance Plan
when she returned to San
but also made five voyages
Diego for overhaul.
through the Panama Canal
to bring men and cargo to
After qualifying pilots in
the United Nations forces
carrier operations at Pearl
in Korea in 1952, 1953,
Harbor from 12 October
and 1954. CORREGIDOR
until 21 November 1944,
was reclassified CVE-58
CORREGIDOR joined a
on 12 June 1955. When
hunter-killer group patrol-
the Lebanon crisis broke in
ling east of the Hawai-
the summer of 1958, COR-
ian Islands. On 2 January
REGIDOR was at Brin-
1945, this group moved
disi, Italy, and immediately
to patrol the area between Pearl Harbor and Eniwetok to protect
lifted two reconnaissance planes of the 24th Infantry, USA, and
heavy Allied shipping, returning to Pearl Harbor 13 February.
10 helicopters to support the landings in Lebanon. Returning to
the United States, CORREGIDOR was decommissioned 4 Sep-
CORREGIDOR sailed from Pearl Harbor 27 February to search
tember 1958 and sold 28 April 1959.
for an overdue plane carrying Lieutenant General M. F. Harmon,
USA, arriving at Majuro 20 March. From 21 March to 27 April,
CORREGIDOR received four battle stars for World War II ser-
she conducted an antisubmarine patrol in the vicinity of Japanese-
vice.
held Wotje and Maloelap in the Marshalls, then off Eniwetok.
Returning to Pearl Harbor 4 May 1945, CORREGIDOR was assigned duty as a training ship in Hawaii, conducting carrier pilot
qualifications until the end of the war. From 2 October 1945 to
10 January 1946 she alternated this duty with three voyages from
World War II Bomber Visits
1947 to a mining company and soon after was sold again to Pratt
The Navy
League
Council in
Brunswick,
Georgia
had arranged
to have a
restored
B-17 Fly-
ing Fortress bomber, the Liberty Belle, to fly in on Veterans Day
so they could raise money for the “Wounded Warrior Project”.
Their hope was to sell tickets at $430.00 for a 20 or 25 minute
ride.
One of the distinguished veterans who flew with the media
was retired Navy Airman Royce Hall, 86, who talked with the
crowd about his wartime experiences as a turret gunner in a torpedo plane.
The Liberty Foundation’s B-17 had been sold as scrap in
and Whitney. It was operated by P&W until 1967 during which
time it was a heavily modified test bed for the company’s T-34
and T-36 turbo prop engines effectively making it a five engine
airplane.
In 1968 it was donated to the Connecticut Aeronautical
Historic Society.
In 1979 the plane was heavily damaged in a tornado.
The wreck was stored until 1987 when it was acquired by an aviation enthusiast in Florida who intended to restore it.
The restoration process began in 1992 and about the turn of
the century it was sold to Don Brooks of the Liberty Foundation,
a non-profit museum dedicated to preserving our aviation heritage.
Brooks and the Foundation funded the complete restoration
of the Liberty Belle back to her full wartime configuration as she
appears today.
For more information on the Liberty Belle and the Liberty
Foundation go to: www.libertyfoundation.org.
“I spent all of my time from ‘43 on looking backward,” he
recalled.
A native of Emanuel County, Georgia, Hall
graduated from high school in Yemassee, SC, in
June 1940 and enlisted in the Navy the following
November.
Hall saw action as a Leading Aircrewman
and Torpedo Plane Turret Gunner during World
War II in the Mariannas campaign, the Philippine
invasion and the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944.
In 2004 Hall collaborated with James D.
Hornfischer, the author of “The Last Stand of the
Tin Can Sailors,” a book about the historic Battle
of Leyte Gulf fought on October 25, 1944.
NEW AND RENEWAL
USS SANGAMON CVE 26
R. E. Magerkurth
AZ
James E. Stacy
CA
Bob Evans
TX
Neal Evans
TN
Sheri Hopper
TN
Marshall M. Langford
TX
USS CAPE ESPERANCE CVE 88
Paul L. Schlener
WA
USS CARD CVE 11
Reid A. Hawthorne
DC
Ralph Wethli
USS KADASHAN BAY CVE 76
Carol I. DeMonaco
FL
William J. Morehead
OH
USS NEHENTA BAY CVE 74
Frederick J. Beddiges
NJ
USS SICILY CVE 118
Daniel Mircovich
CA
USS MAKIN ISLAND CVE 93
James Dew O’Brien
MD
USS MINDORO CVE 120
Roger L. Burgler
NY
John T. Duff
OH
USS BISMARCK SEA CVE 95
William C. Bull
PA
NEW AND RENEWAL
USS BADOENG STRAIT CVE 116
John R. Davis
ME
William Cansler
OK
USS CAPE GLOUCESTER CVE 109
William L. Kistner
MN
USS BOGUE CVE 9
Lowell P. Johnson
AZ
USS STEAMER BAY CVE 87
Erwin Allen
FL
USS SAVO ISLAND CVE 78
Daniel Rado
GA
Sam H. Blackwell, Jr
GA
USS CORREGIDOR CVE 58
Edward P. Socha
TX
USS SAIDOR CVE 117
Paul N. Hawkins
NC
USS CHENANGO CVE 28
Horace C. Smith
AL
USS GUADALCANAL CVE 60
John H. Laibach
NY
USS HOGGATT BAY CVE 75
Ward J. Taylor
FL
Lew D. Strong
MI
USS KWAJALEIN CVE 98
Rich McBean
NJ
USS MANILA BAY CVE 61
Bernard Melzer
NJ
President’s Message
NEW AND RENEWAL
Stephen M. Rockford PA
USS POINT CRUZ CVE 119
John P. Dolan
NV
Jimmy B. Earles
GA
Peter S. Viviano
MI
USS RENDOVA CVE 114
Fil Sanchez
CA
James M. Cannon
SC
Elmer R. East
OH
R. H. Middleton
IN
USS ROI CVE 103
Walter F. Sain
TX
USS TRIPOLI CVE 64
Paul E. Long
PA
USS TULAGI
Donald L. Davis
FL
USS PALAU CVE 122
John J. Carty
MA
Ila R. Stevens
TN
USS PETROF BAY CVE 80
Joseph W. Blazina
CA
USS NATOMA BAY CVE 62
Leland E. Grenter
OH
Sven Bostrom
CA
USS PINE ISLAND
Pete G. Litaker
AL
Please keep on trying to interest the Korean and Vietnam CVE’ers
in joining us. The following CVE’s were activated for Korean:
Joyce and I are enjoying a beautiful fall day in an RV park outside Tripoli, Corregidor, Rendova, Sicily, and Sitkoh Bay.
Campbellsville, KY. I hope all of you are enjoying the same kind
The following were on duty during the Vietnam war: Card, Core,
of weather.
Cape Brenton, Croatan, Kula Gulf, Bairoko and the Baedoing
The convention in Branson was very enjoyable for us and every-
Straits. The Gilbert Islands was renamed the Annapolis and was
one I talked to seemed to be pleased with the accommodations
offshore in Vietnamese waters. If I missed your ship, please let
and shows.
me know and I will add it in the next issue.
I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to the wives of our Governors,
Many of the sailors on these ships already belong to the ECSAA
my wife Joyce, and to those of you who volunteered to relieve
and Mage is doing his best to get those that participate to join up.
them. Without their help, we, as Governors , would have been
We need these younger sailors to help us continue this fine organi-
overwhelmed.
zation. KEEP TALKING US UP.
Our 2011 convention is scheduled for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. One of my shipmates, Ed Hopkins from the Corregidor, and
his wife visited the area and gave me a glowing report.
JOE BENNETT
Editor’s Corner
It’s nice to know someone reads the details in our Piper. Shipmate R.B. Lyon in Purcellville, VA caught us in an error. He states
that VOF-1 was aboard the USS Tulagi CVE-72 from 6-28-44 to 10-26-44. Thanks for keeping us straight.
Shipmates if you don’t get your paper let “Mage” know and he will send you a replacement. Our “Piper” had to go from
Norfolk to Richmond for processing causing a delay. I’m working with the Postmaster in Norfolk and the customer relations
agent in Richmond to get this resolved.
Many thanks for all the Christmas cards received. It would take up too much space to list everyone, but they are very much ap-
preciated.
I would like to remind everyone who sends in something to have published in our newspaper. It is mandatory that you have a
written release from your source giving us permission to use their story. The explanation is on page 2 of each issue.
Our assistant editor, Joyce Wilson, is continually updating our website. It’s an excellent source of information for your children
and grandchildren. Let them know our web address so they can access it.
Mr. Stephen M. Rockford has written to us for help in locating anyone who knew his uncle who served on the Thetis Bay from
May 1945 to May 1946. Anyone who knew him can drop Stephen a line at 121 S. Norwinder Drive, Springfield, PA 19064.
The Postmaster’s secretary, Sharon Gregory, has assured me our mailing will not go to Richmond for processing. That’s good
news for us. Start making your plans for Myrtle Beach next fall.
See you there, Charlie
MEDALS, SERVICES & BENEFITS YOU EARNED
A HANDBOOK for FEDERAL BENEFITS
FOR VETERANS AND DEPENDENTS has
been updated with the latest data and is now
available for $3.70 postpaid. The 96 page booklet
describes such VA benefits as medical care, education, compensation, pension, Life insurance,
home loan guarantee, vocational rehabilitation and
burial assistance.
To obtain this booklet, send your check or money
order in the amount of $3.70 to:
SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS
US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20402-9325
The stock number to order is ISBN 0-16-036128
The book can be order with a credit card by dialing (202) 512-1800 or FAX (202) 512-2250
Service Medals
________________________________________
TO OBTAIN YOUR SERVICE MEDALS
You can obtain all service medals you are entitled
to by writing to:
NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER
ENTITLEMENT TO AWARDS DIVISION
9700 Page Blvd.
St. Louis, MO. 63132
You must write asking for the Medals to be is-
sued to you and you MUST include a copy of both
sides of your DISCHARGE PAPERS. This service
is available to veterans and relatives of deceased
veterans.
________________________________________
The Department of Veterans Affairs now has a
TOLL FREE NUMBER where you can inquire
about headstones for veterans or other questions regarding grave marker programs.
The new system will greatly enhance the ability to get answers to customers who need them
quickly. By calling 1-800-687-6947 you can connect to VA’s National Cemetery Systems, Office
of Memorials Programs in Washington, DC. This
line operates from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday. Service representatives can now supply immediate information
about status of applications, headstones or marker
delivery and general information about the Memorial Programs.
________________________________________
Military personnel and health record information is usually free for veterans, next-of-kin, and
authorized representatives. If your request involves a service fee, you will be notified as soon
as possible.
NOTE: Some records (Navy and Marine Corps
enlisted personnel pre-1939) are in the process
of being accessioned into the National Archives’
collection and are no longer considered part of
the NPRC, but are now part of the new Archival
Programs Division. Standard reproduction charges
may apply for copies of these documents. The process for requesting these records remains the same
for now.
You can mail or fax your signed and dated request
to the National Archives’s National Personnel
Record Center (NPRC). Most, but not all records,
are stored at the NPRC. Be sure to use the address
specified by eVetRecs or the instructions on the
SF-180. Locations of Military Service Records.
NPRC Fax Number :
314-801-9195
NPRC Mailing Address:
National Personnel Records Center
Military Personnel Records
9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63132-5100
314-801-0800
TAPS
Winter 2010/2011
USS PALAU
Franlin H. Stevens
Allen G. Smith
USS SAGINAW
John R. Huston
USS SUWANNEE VF27
James V. Foy
USS SALAMUA
Robert L. Kouns, Jr
William F. Casey
USS SALERNO
Albert K. Himes
USS CORE
John D. Shippey
USS KADASHAN BAY
John J. Bynon
Morris I. Silver
Jack Ellison
USS SITKOH BAY
Lt Wm L. Llewellin
Dryden S. Carman
Herman A. Kelley
Lt Harry Nagel
James Galligan
USS CHENANGO
Manuel Ruiz
Robert Scheffler
Alfred Lorona
Norman McAffee
John A. Stewart
USS MINDORO
James Marshall
Arthur C. Joachim
Edmund T. Lang
USS GUADALCANAL
USS MAKIN ISLAND
USS NEHENTA BAY
Fred Ewers, Sr.
Richard K. Schafer
James Carlberg
USS SAIDOR
Charles W. Ferrell
Neil McMahan
Lt Robert Nancarrow
Eugene C. Gold
Art Elias, plank owner of
the USS Gilbert Islands,
has published a ship’s
history of the “GI”. It is
available for $25.00. Please
contact Art at
12308 Covered Bridge
Road,
Sellersburg, IN 47172.
DECEASED
Name__________________________________________________________________
Address________________________________________________________________
City & State_______________________________________________Zip____________
Ship___________________________________________________________________
Squadron____________________________________Date of Death__________________
Survivors Name___________________________________________________________
___Continue sending “CVE Piper”
___Discontinue sending “CVE Piper”
Please send to: Mage Magerkurth, 13114 W. Blue Bonnet Drive, Sun City West, AZ 85375-2537
Membership Application
MAKE REMITTANCES PAYABLE TO
ESCORT CARRIER SAILORS & AIRMEN ASSN., INC.
1 YR.
2 YRS.
3 YRS.
(NAVY & MARINE SHIPBOARD VETERANS OF WWII, KOREA & VIETNAM)
DONATIONS ARE TAX
DEDUCTIBLE
DUES ARE NOT.
Ralph Magerkurth Membership Chairman
13114 Blue Bonnet Drive Sun City W., AZ 85375
Phone: 623-628-9589 E-mail: [email protected]
NEW APPLICANT
RENEWAL
ADDRESS CHANGE
RANK/RATE
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
PHONE
CVE (S) NAME & NUMBER
MEMBER NO.
$30.00
$50.00
$65.00
SQUADRON(S)
ZIP
CHECK
E-Mail
OR
ST.
DATE SERVED
NEW MEMBERS - ATTEND OUR REUNIONS, MEET SHIPMATES IN MYRTLE BEACH, SC IN 2011
NO.
AMT.
DATE
RECD. BY
ENTRY DATE
For all of you who have computers,
please check out our guest book on
the ECSAA website. We have lots of
folks who are looking for information on their loved ones who served
during WWI and WWII. If you can
be of
assistance, please
contact them. They would love to
hear from you.
From the Chaplain’s Pen___________________________
Philippians 3:13”....but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those which are ahead.”
We are standing on the threshold of a New Year and we can’t help but be concerned about the future of this world, our Country and our-
selves. There are many questions regarding our future but I am encouraged by a part of a song we sometimes sing written by Ira Stanphill entitled “I Don’t Know about Tomorrow” and it reads:
“I don’t know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from its sunshine,
For it’s skies may turn to gray.
I don’t worry o’er its future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him
For He knows what is ahead”.
There is another song that gave me some help as I struggled with a problem that was testing the strength of my faith. I was being tossed
from yes or no as to whether the decision I made was right. It was as if I was in a small fishing boat and it was tied to a pier with a rope. The
wind was blowing and the boat was being tossed wildly and I was afraid the rope, my faith in God, would not be sufficient to save me. As I was
becoming panic stricken another song came to me entitled “My Anchor Holds” written by Wm. Marten.
“Though the angry surges roll
On my tempest driven soul,
I am peaceful, for I know,
Wildly though the wind may blow,
I’ve an anchor safe and sure
And it holds, my anchor holds.
Blow your wildest, then, o gale,
On my back so small and frail:
By His grace I shall not fail,
For my anchor holds, my anchor holds!
It would seem that as we get older our problems would become fewer but is doesn’t work that way but thankfully we do have an anchor
that holds and the rope that holds us safely is our faith and trust in our Heavenly Father. So let us face our new year with confidence that ultimately “all is well” as the One who holds tomorrow is the One who holds our hand.
With Christian love - Chappie Bob Marsh
THE 14TH CARRIER AIR GROUP
The 14th Carrier Air Group (CAG) was formed on 30th June 1945 for HMS Colossus
with 827 Barracudas and 1846 Corsairs, disbanding when the ship arrived home from
Ceylon 23rd July 1946.
It reformed at Eglinton 1 Oct 1946 with 804 (Seafire) and 812 (Firefly) squadrons for
HMS Theseus for service in the Far East, disbanding on return home on 21 December
1947.
Reformed at Ford on 15 January 1948 with same squadrons, but having later marks of the two aircraft types.
The CAG moved around RNAS Donibristle, Ford, and Eglinton before embarking in HMS Ocean on 24 August 1948. Sailing for
Malta, it arrived at RNAS Hal-Far 1 September, and alternated with Ocean for various cruises in the Mediterranean. In July 1949, 804
changed its Seafires for Sea Furies, and 812 for Fireflie FR5’s, in addition to which were added 4 NF 1s forming Black Flight which
became known as the 14th CAG Night Fighter unit. In November 1949 Ocean was relieved by HMS Glory thus becoming the CAG’s
new home.
The Group saw action in Korea 1951/52 and disbanded on returning home in May 1952.
“ Our Association has also come to the attention of the Escort Carriers Sailors and Airmen Association in the USA. Which I am led to
believe would like to become associated with us as is the USS Sicily Association. Some of you may recall that in Korea we operated
along side the SICILY and BATAAN with one or two of you spending some time aboard the Bataan. There was another ship which
was also part of our task group, but at the moment it’s name escapes me. (The third CVE was later confirmed as the USS BAIROKO
CVE 115 by a member who was able to spend a day aboard her.) I have received a copy of their first Newsletter for 2010, aptly called
“The CVE Piper” which unlike my little effort is like a small tabloid of 24 pages, and fairly large print which is a boon to anyone with
failing eyesight. It is very interesting with reports of ships and people as well as reports of their last gathering (Reunion). A recent
email from the Membership Chairman , “Mage” Magerkurth of the USS Sangamon CVE-26, hopes that there will be continuing correspondence between our two Navies.”
This excerpt was placed in the 14th Carrier Air Group Reunion Association Spring of 2010 Newsletter by Coordinator, Ken Lambert.
Philippine Military Action Medal
The award is intended to recognize meritorious achievement in the field of civic action in duty responsibility or
in direct support to military operations.
If you are eligible for this medal fax your information to 1-202-467-9358 or mail to: Office of the Veterans Affairs, Embassy of the Philippines, 1600 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20036.
Contact the address above if you are possibly eligible for: Philippine Liberation, Philippine Defense, Philippine
Defense or Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
A Hawaii Overprint Note is one of a series
of banknotes (one Silver Certificate and three Federal Reserve
Notes) issued during World War II as an emergency issue after
the attack on Pearl Harbor. The intent of the overprints was to
easily distinguish US currency captured by Japanese forces in the
event of an invasion of Hawaii and render said bills useless.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, military officials surmised that
in the event of an invasion of Hawaii, Japanese forces would
have access to a considerable amount of US currency that could
notes worthless, due to their easy identification.
With this issue, military officials made the use of non-overprinted
notes redundant and ordered all Hawaii residents to turn in unstamped notes for Hawaii-stamped notes by July 15. Starting
from August 15, 1942, no other paper currency could be used
except under special permission.
Faced with a $200 million stockpile of US currency, military
officials opted to destroy all the recalled currency instead of
overcoming the logistical problems of shipping the currency
back to the mainland. At
be seized from financial institu-
first, a local crematorium
tions or private individuals. Faced
was pressed into service to
with this scenario, on January 10,
burn the notes. To ensure
1942, Military Governor Delos
complete destruction, a fine
Carleton Emmons issued an order
mesh was placed on the
to recall all regular US paper
top of the smokestacks to
money in the Islands, save for set
catch and recirculate un-
caps on how much money both
burned scraps of currency
individuals ($200) and businesses
escaping the fire. Progress
($500); save extra currency for
on the destruction was
payroll purposes) could possess at
slow, and pressed with
any time.
time, the bigger furnaces of
On June 25, 1942, new over-
the Aiea Sugar Mill were
printed notes were first issued.
requisitioned to help burn
Series 1935A $1 Silver Certificate, Series 1934 $5 and $20 Federal Reserve Notes, and Series
1934A $5, $10, and $20 Federal Reserve Notes from the Federal
Reserve Bank of San Francisco were issued with brown treasury
seals and serial numbers.
Overprints of the word HAWAII were made; two small overprints
to the sides of the obverse of the bill between the border and both
the treasury seal and Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco seal,
and huge outlined HAWAII lettering dominating the reverse. The
the currency.
The notes and issuance continued in use until October 21,
1944; by April 1946, notes were being recalled. Many notes
were saved as curios and souvenirs by servicemen.
This article was taken from Wikipedia. If you have further
knowledge and would like to share with our readers, please drop
a line or email to the editor.
hope was that should there have been a Japanese invasion, the
US Government could immediately declare any Hawaii-stamped
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For nearly 20 years the United States Navy Memorial’s Navy Log has served as a permanent record of sea service men and
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Allan Gardner takes his dog to the VA hospital every week to cheer
patients. Last weekend, he did even more.
Allan Gardner, an 84-year-old World War II veteran from West Los Angeles, wanted to do
something a little extra to help celebrate Veterans Day this year. Not that he hadn’t already
done plenty for those who served.
Gardner has been on a 12-year tour of duty as a volunteer at the VA’s West Los Angeles Medical Center, making weekly visits with his dog, G.G. (as in Good Girl). The former sailor and his standard poodle try to cheer up sick or
injured vets, some of whom are in residential programs. “It gives the vets five minutes to talk about something other than their aches
and pains,” said Gardner, who works as a property manager when he isn’t doing good deeds.
A couple of years ago, Gardner heard about a deal offered annually by the McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant chain. The restaurant
serves thousands of complimentary meals to vets at its dozens of branches nationwide, usually on the Sunday before Veterans Day.
“A couple of years ago … I got a 12-passenger van from Enterprise,” says Gardner, who drove a dozen vets to dinner at the McCormick & Schmick’s on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. “It was a great experience.”
Gardner got to thinking that if he could do 12, why not 112? That would take some help, but Gardner wasn’t too shy to ask for it.
The Tumbleweed transportation company, which parks its vehicles at the VA, came through with two buses, no charge. But Gardner
wanted to make sure the vets got the royal treatment, and the complimentary offer from McCormick & Schmick’s covered only the
entree and two sides. So he set out to raise an extra $10 per vet to cover the cost of salad, a beverage and dessert.
On Sunday, Oct. 24, Gardner took a chance that another World War II vet might answer the call. He wrote a letter to Hugh Hefner,
drove to the Playboy mansion, and dropped an envelope through the front gate. “It rained that night,” said Gardner, who worried that
his plea might get washed down a storm drain. If so, he was willing to shell out his own money.
But two days later, Gardner got a call from Hefner’s secretary saying the Playboy founder would be happy to help out. By week’s end,
Gardner got a $1,120 check in the mail from Hefner.
This past Sunday, a Tumbleweed bus left the VA a little before 3 p.m. with more than 50 vets aboard. An hour later, the second bus left
with another 40-plus hungry vets. Spirits were high. Many of the vets had been homeless for long stretches, still fighting the ghosts of
war and often wondering where they’d get their next meal. When the buses stopped on Rodeo Drive and the march began, there were a
few limps in the battalions, along with canes, an oxygen tank and some Legionnaire caps.
“I served from 1943-1945,” said a vet named Millie Taylor, 86, as she started her salad course. Taylor was in the nursing corps, treating servicemen with severe burns and other injuries. “My son was killed in Vietnam when he was 19, and I had six brothers in World
War II, one of them killed in Germany.”
Seated at the next table were two more World War II vets — Steve Rosmarin, 83, and John Wesley McCoy, 88. McCoy said he served
in Guadalcanal and considers himself lucky to have survived. Rosmarin is a member of the L.A. County Veterans Advisory Commission and spent 20 years working to make the new Veterans Home of California a reality on the VA campus.
Paul Pierce, general manager of the restaurant, said $5 per vet — rather than $10 — would cover the cost of drinks, dessert and the
Continued on page 23
SHORT SNORTERS
When a civilian aviator by the name of Jack Ashcroft went
out for a night on the town, he couldn’t have imagined that this
would inspire him to start one of America’s quirkiest traditions.
Legend has it that Jack, a heavy drinker, went AWOL from the
Gates Flying Circus where he worked.
Upon his return he calmed his irate boss by coaxing him
into handing over two dollar bills.
were signed by famous names rather than just colleagues. One famous example was owned by Grover Criswell. His 200 foot long
Short Snorter was made from between 400 and 500 notes taped
together and rolled into a bundle 15 inches thick.
But quantity did not always mean quality. While the most
famous autograph on Criswell’s roll was that of John F. Kennedy’s older brother Joe, many were signed by presidents and prime
ministers.
The tradition was brought up to date in the 1960s as America entered the space age. The
On one bill he wrote “Short
tradition of ‘Astronaut Signed
Snorter No 1, Pangborn (the
Dollar Bills’ began at the
name of his employer), Aug
grand opening of the Houston
1925.” He handed this back
Astrodome in 1965.
and pocketed the other dollar.
And so was born the first Short
III-XIII and Apollo 7-11 mis-
Snorter.
sions, the astronauts all carried
For the American forces
$1 bills signed by their fellow
in World War II, Short Snorters
crew members, some even
became not only a record of
sporting Neil Armstrong’s sig-
who a military-man had served
nature.
with but also a drinking game
and a status symbol.
produce their bill during the
rived from the slang for a stiff
a full measure. When servicemen were out drinking they chal-
And in true Short Snorter
tradition, anyone unable to
The word ‘snort’ is de-
drink, and a ‘short’ is less than
Throughout the Gemini
mission would be the one buying the drinks when they got safely back to earth.
lenged each other to produce their Short Snorters. Anyone who
failed to do so was obliged to buy the round of drinks. But they
also served as a kind of membership card to a special club.
Officially Short Snorters were pilots who had flown across
the equator, or from country to country. They added other curren-
This information was taken from the web site of the History
Detectives. If you would like to relate your story for The Piper,
please contact the Editor.
cies as a sign of their worldliness and asked the foreign fighters
they met to sign their bills.
As the craze caught on Short Snorters became longer and
Floating Fear
By Randell Jones
On the afternoon of May 5, 1945, Reverend Archie Mitchell and
Soon after suffering the humiliation of this strike against their
his young wife, Elsi, then expecting their first child, went for a
homeland, the Japanese military leaders devised their own plan to
picnic and fishing trip in the Fremont National Forest near Gear-
strike the United States mainland. Japan had no planes that could
hart Mountain about 15 miles northeast of Bly, Oregon. The pair
reach the US with bombs to interrupt the production of war ma-
were joined on their outing by five children from their neighbor-
teriel. They elected instead to launch balloons from Japan. The
hood, all between the ages of 11 and 14. The day was beautiful
balloons would float across the Pacific on the recently discovered
and the group was eager to enjoy a frolic in the fresh air beneath
high, easterly wind currents of the jet stream at some 30,000 feet
the mountain’s 8,300-foot peak. They hoped, perhaps for the
and arrive at random places along the Pacific Coast. Each balloon
afternoon at least, to take their minds off America’s participation
would carry a 15-killogram (i.e., 33-pound) anti-personnel, explo-
in a world war, an involvement that had continued for three-and-
sive device and two incendiary bombs. The Japanese hoped that
a-half years since the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7,
hundreds or thousands of fires raging throughout the forests of
1941.
California, Oregon, and Washington would not only destroy timber but also take men away from the production of ships, planes,
The United States, having declared war on Japan the day after the
and armaments to fight the fires. The balloon campaign was called
surprise attack in Hawaii, was soon looking for a way to retaliate.
Fu-Go, Japanese for “fire bomb.:
With a chance observation that a B-25 bomber would be able to
take-off from (but not land on) the deck of an aircraft carrier, the
Soon after Doolittle’s Raid, Japan began production of thousands
Army and Navy planned just such a secret reprisal against Japan.
of balloons. School children were used as a principal source of
On April 18, 1942, Major Jimmy Doolittle led a squadron of 16
labor for gluing together three of four layers of tissue paper to
bombers from the USS Hornet, 600 miles off the Japanese coast.
make a gas-tight sphere some 10 meters (i.e., about 30 feet) in
They had hoped to get another two hundred miles closer before
diameter. Another design used rubberized silk instead of paper.
launching, but the ships were spotted by a Japanese patrol. Even
The spheres were inflated with 19,000 cubic feet of hydrogen.
knowing that he did not have enough fuel to reach the planned
The bombs, sand ballast, and instruments for controlling the bal-
landing strips in China, Doolittle nevertheless launched his attack
loon’s elevation hung below from carefully knotted shrouds. After
from farther out at sea. The Americans surprised the enemy by
an initial launch of some 200 balloons in the spring of 1944, the
bombing Tokyo and Nagoya; but, the pilots later captured after
Japanese released an estimated 9,300 balloons beginning in No-
ditching their planes short of the refuge in China. The Japanese
vember 1944 with 7,000 of these released in January, February,
military leaders had thought their island nation inaccessible and
and March of 1945.
thus insulated from attack. The daring raid by the American flyers
disproved Japan’s safety and embarrassed its military leaders. The Continued on page 16
bravery and success of Doolittle’s Raiders lifted the morale of
Americans from coast to coast.
Floating Fear continued.....
The balloons traveled at the whim of the jet stream, but they
crossed the Pacific Ocean rather quickly, in about two days. The
first balloon found was discovered at sea on November 4, 1944
about 60 miles off the coast of California. One account says 342
balloons reached the North American mainland; another estimate
says one thousand did. Eventually balloons were found in 17
states. To prevent the Japanese from learning about the outcome
of their Fu-Go campaign and also to prevent a public panic in
the United States, the War Department classified the discovery
of these balloons. The Office of Censorship secured the cooperation of the media in keeping this story a secret from the American
public.
On May 5, after the Reverend Mitchell and his party arrived at
Gearhart Mountain, he lingered at the car gathering their supplies while the others went ahead. One of the girls came running
back with the news that they had discovered something in the
woods, a fallen balloon, she thought. “Look what I found, Dear,”
Elsie called to her husband as he approached. The unsuspecting
picnickers began to drag the balloon from the woods. The initial
movement detonated the bomb, instantly filling the air with dust,
pine needles, twigs and branches. The blast blew a crater one foot
deep and three feet in diameter. Five of the children died instantly; Elsie Mitchell survived only briefly.
An American botanist inspected the sand found in the ballast bags
of another balloon recovered elsewhere. He was able to identify
the location from which the sand was taken. This led US bombers
to Honshu Island in 1945 where they destroyed the balloon-bomb
launch site. Feeling some responsibility for not having revealed
the threat to the public, in 1949 Congress awarded $5,000 to
Reverend Mitchell and $3,000 to the relatives of each of the five
children killed.
In 1976, a ceremony was held in Nagasaki’s Peace Park to remember the six people killed in Oregon in 1945 by the Fu-Go
bombs. Church bells and temple bells pealed. At Bly, Oregon, a
Japanese meteorologist who had been involved with the balloon
bomb campaign laid a wreath at the monument at Gearhart Mountain, in the Mitchell Recreation Area, in honor of the fallen civilians. He did so to atone for his role and that of a colleague in the
deaths of these innocents. The monument at Bly reads “Dedicated
to those who died here May 5, 1945 by Japanese bomb explosion:
Elsie Mitchell, age 26, Dick Patzke, age 14, Jay Gifford, age 13,
Edward Engen, age 13, Joan Patzke, age 13, Sherman Shoemaker,
age 11. The only place on the American continent where death
resulted from enemy action during World War II.” In 1989 on the
44th anniversary of the tragedy in Oregon, two Japanese women
who as high school students had helped assemble the balloons
sent, as an expression of apology, two traditional Ouchi dolls and
1,000 paper cranes they had folded. They wrote, “We humbly...
offer our prayers...for the souls of the six who lost their precious
lives due to one of the balloon bombs we helped to build.”
On May 4, 1945, the day before the tragedy in Oregon, Navy seaman and radio technician Dennis Jones, the author’s father, then
age 20, was critically wounded in a kamikaze attack against his
aircraft carrier, the USS Sangamon, off the coast of Okinawa. He
was evacuated to a hospital ship, the USS Dennis, for surgery. He
was returned stateside where he received an Honorable Discharge
at the end of the war. He was awarded a Purple Heart and he was
married that August. Dennis and his bride, Kathleen, and the millions of other couples, heroes all, who united in defeating evil in
a world war were not so different in their hopes and their dreams
from Archie and Elsie Mitchell.
Randell is a historian and writer.
You can read about his books at www.danielboonefootsteps.com
WORLD WAR II - HOW DID THE CVE’s DO!
PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION (PUC)
NAVY UNIT COMMENDATION (NUC)
BOGUE
CARD
SANGAMON
SUWANNEE
SANTEE
GUADALCANAL
NATOMA BAY
ST LO
WHITE PLAINS
KALININ BAY
FANSHAW BAY
KITKUN BAY
GAMBIER BAY
SAVO ISLAND
PETROF BAY
LUNGA POINT
CHENANGO
ANZIO
MANILA BAY
WAKE ISLAND
HOGGATT BAY
MARCUS ISLAND
MAKIN ISLAND
CVE 9
CVE 11
CVE 26
CVE 27
CVE 29
CVE 60
CVE 62
CVE 63
CVE 66
CVE 68
CVE 70 (2 AWARDS)
CVE 71
CVE 73
CVE 78
CVE 80
CVE 94
CVE 28
CVE 57
CVE 61
CVE 65
CVE 75
CVE 77
CVE 93
BATTLE STAR LEADERS
SUWANNEE 13, CHENANGO 11, SANTEE, ANZIO 9, MANILA BAY, SANGAMON 8, NATOMA BAY, NEHENTA BAY
7, KITKUN BAY, SARGENT BAY, STEAMER BAY 6, NASSAU, WHITE PLAINS, KALININ BAY, FANSHAW BAY, HOGGATT BAY, PETROF BAY, RUDYERD BAY, SAGINAW BAY, LUNGA POINT, MAKIN ISLAND 5. 39 other CVEs awarded 4
or less. 60 of 86 CVE’s commissioned were in battles.
SUNK: LISCOME BAY, BLOCK ISLAND, GAMBIER BAY, ST LO, OMMANEY BAY & BISMARK SEA
COMPARE WITH THE “FAST” CARRIERS
PUC: BUNKER HILL, ENTERPRISE, ESSEX, HORNET, LEXINGTON, YORKTOWN (CVs) BELLEAU WOOD, CABOT,
SAN JACINTO (CVLs)
NUC: ENTERPRISE, HANCOCK, WASP (CVs) COWPENS, LANGLEY (CVLs)
SUNK: LEXINGTON CV2, YORKTOWN CV5, WASP CV7, HORNET CV8, PRINCETON CVL23
BATTLE STAR LEADERS
ENTERPRISE 20, ESSEX 13, YORKTOWN 10, BUNKER HILL AND LEXINGTON 11, WASP 8, SARATOGA, HORNET 7,
TICONDEROGA, INTREPID 5, 12 other CV’s got 4 or less.
CVL’s: COWPENS 12, BELLEAU WOOD 11, CABOT, PRINCETON, LANGLEY 9, INDEPENDENCE 8, SAN JACINTO,
BATAAN 5. No others were listed
continued on page 18
USS NEHENTA BAY CVE 74 and SHAMROCK
BAY CVE 84 & SQUADRONS
Date: June 16 -18, 2011
Location: Best Western Academy Hotel, Colorado
Springs, CO
Contact: Stewart G. Wasoba
Phone: 727-397-4871
Address: 10533 112 Avenue North
Largo, FL 33773
2011 Currently Scheduled Reunions
Current Reunion Notice
Please list the following:
Ship or Association:
Dates of Reunion:
Where:
Contact:
Address:
USS PALAU CVE 122
Phone or email:
Date: May 1- 5, 2011
Where: Myrtle Beach, SC
Contact: Harry Weldy
Address: PO Box 122, Rising Sun, MD 21911
Phone: 410-658-6043
E Mail: [email protected]
Send to “Mage” Magerkurth, Membership Chairman for ECSAA, 13114 W. Blue Bonnet Drive,
Sun City West, AZ 85375-2537
Phone: 623-628-9589 or email: [email protected]
Annual Arizona CVE Meeting
USS WAKE ISLAND CVE 65
USS SICILY
The 14th annual meeting of the Arizona chapter of
CVE Sailors and Airmen will be held on Feb 8,
2011.
Date: September 15 -18, 2011
Location: Carriage House, Branson, MO
Contact: Earl Carter
Phone: 501-758-7835
Address: 5309 Timber Creek Circle,
North Little Rock, AR 72116
Date: October 21 - 27, 2011
Location: Landmark Resort, Myrtle Beach, SC
Contact: Ed Smith
Phone: 410-758-1659
Address: 222 Mallard Drive, Centreville, MD
21617
USS corregidor
USS TRIPOLI CVE 64
Contact: Joe Bennett
Phone: 716-474-1670
Address: 2464 Sand Rock Rd, Eden, NY 14057
Contact: Paul E. Long
Phone: 717-390-2861
If you are visiting Phoenix or the surrounding area
and have never attended one of our meetings, call
623-628-9589 or E mail [email protected] for
information.
Letters will be mailed mid January with time and
location.
It is very important
to
send in your ship
reunion dates
EARLY
as the PIPER
is now being printed only
4 times a year.
WORLD WAR II - HOW DID THE CVE’s DO!
CVE WWII RECORDS
PUC’S 16 ( 1 ship got 2)
NUC’S 7
Total Battle Stars 249 among 60 ships
6 CVE’s sunk as a result of enemy action
41 Battle Stars to CARDIV 22
(CVE’s 26, 27, 28, 29)
CV/CVL WWII RECORDS
PUC’S 9
NUC’S 5
Total Battle Stars 161 among 16 ships
5 CV/CVL sunk as a result of enemy action
Top 4 CV’s earning Battle Stars 54
“Not bad at all for what we had to work with!”
WWII Pacific Theater Odyssey
This is a synopsis of the events leading up to and follow-
launching or recovering aircraft carriers must be headed into the
ing of the kamikaze attack aboard the USS Ommaney Bay aircraft wind while the rest of the task force turned to port and went back
carrier (CVE 79) in 1945.
on course. During that maneuver our ship changed positions with
the USS Ommaney Bay. That put them on the port side of the task
My tour of duty in the U.S. Navy began in September of
1943. Following training in boot camp, I was assigned to aviation
force and our ship inside of them.
radio school at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville. Florida. This After we landed I went below to take off my flight gear.
was followed by gunnery school and then operational training in
Within fifteen minutes general quarters sounded signifying that
TBM Grumman Avengers (torpedo bombers) in Fort Lauderdale,
we were under attack. I ran up to the flight deck and from the port
Florida.
side I saw the Ommaney Bay burning and exploding - the ship
with which we had just changed places. It had
After a short leave I was sent
to the Naval Air Station in San Diego,
been hit by a Japanese kamikaze plane that
California, where I rejoined my pilot
was carrying two bombs.
and gunner. We had been assigned to
a Composte Squadron (VC 90). After
at the tender age of eighteen I realized for the
being transported to Kaneohe Bay in
first time that we were going into a situation
Hawaii where we trained for a few
that would be both exciting and dangerous.
weeks, we were assigned to an aircraft
What a wake up call. It actually seemed more
carrier where we would do a tour of
like a dream. (Perhaps that is what the mind
duty in the Pacific. This carrier was
does to one under such circumstances).
This was my first “taste” of combat and
CVE 87 (USS Steamer Bay).
the event and later gave me two pictures of the Ommaney Bay
Following a voyage to the South Pacific we joined up with
a task force in Manus in the Admiralty Islands. There were de-
The photographers aboard our ship took many pictures of
burning furiously and destroyers picking up survivors. Watching
stroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers. After a short stay, we began this happen was the most helpless feeling I have ever had. To this
our trip to the Philippine Islands to participate in the invasion of
day I don’t know how many survivors there were. However, I can
Lingayan Gulf. To get there we had to go through the Mindoro
reveal that I do know of one.
Straits. We learned that there were twenty Japanese airfields on
both sides of the straits. On our first day into the straits my crew
to Corpus Christi, Texas, I decided to become a volunteer on the
and I were returning from an anti-sub patrol and we were to be
USS Lexington aircraft carrier (CV16). This I did in November
the last to land. An FM2 Grumman Wildcat went ahead of us and
of 2005. My posts were on the fight deck and the bridge. Early in
upon landing, the landing gear collapsed and it crashed on the
February I decided to donate the two pictures of the sinking Om-
deck.
maney Bay to the Lexington for the CVE exhibit.
We had to circle until the deck was cleared for us to land. In
After sixty one years and having moved from California
WWII Pacific Theater Odyssey continued
...I did so and the
pictures were copied and mounted on a plaque. On my eightieth
birthday (February 10th) I helped mount the pictures and was
elated to become a small part of the museum as a donor of memorabilia.
On Thursday, February 23, 2006, I decided to go to the ship
to deliver something to Maggie Ramsey who is in charge of the
volunteer program. When I was there I decided to go up to the
bridge for no particular reason except to visit with Jerry Schultz,
another volunteer, who helped train me and provide me with
much information about the operation of the ship to share with
visitors.
While I was there some people came up on the bridge and
Jerry began to talk to them about the operation. One of the men
asked me if I had served on the Lexington and I said, “I served
on a CVE during WWII as a combat aircrewman”. He replied, “I
served on a CVE, too.” I then asked him which of the carriers he
had served on and he said, “The Ommaney Bay”’. I was totally at
a loss for words. After the initial shock I then asked if he had been
aboard when it had been hit by the kamikaze plane. “Yes”, he
replied.
This was the first time I had ever met anyone who had been
on that ship. I took him down to the CVE exhibit and showed him
the pictures that had just been mounted the week before. He said,
“This is the first time I
have ever seen pictures of
the ship after it was hit.
When it was hit and began to explode and burn,
I managed to make my
way to the fantail, where
I jumped into the water. I swam around a bit
and was picked up by a
destroyer”.
Jack Handley and I have become buddies. He lived in Cor-
pus Christi two and a half miles from where I live. (He has now
moved to Reno, Nevada). During our conversations he told me
that the only reason he had gone down to the Lexington that day
was because his daughter, son-in-law and grandson were visiting
Jack and his wife and had insisted that he go with them. My being there was equally as unusual since I never do go to the ship on
Thursdays, only Mondays and Fridays. Coincidence? I think not.
A few weeks later, while on the bridge of the Lexington, a
woman came in and when I asked her where she was from, she
said. “Pinedale, Wyoming.” I told her that the photographer’s
mate aboard our ship was from Pinedale and I had not heard from
him since returning to the States from the Pacific. I told her his
name was Harold Faler. She said the name was familiar but she
did not know him. She promised she would try to find out about
him on her return to Pinedale. A couple of weeks later she called
me and gave me Harold’s phone number. After calling him and
leaving messages for him to call me, I had all but given up hearing from him. However, I did eventually receive a call from him
on my cell phone while I was again on the bridge of the “Lex”.
Harold and I have kept in touch by phone and hopefully we will
be able to get together in person. Another coincidence? No, I
don’t think so.
This odyssey is, to me, another reason to believe and to be convinced that God is in control
and guides us into events in life that we could
not possibly have planned ourselves. Needless
to say I am very grateful for having lived this
story and for having been given the opportunity
to share the experience with others. I’m sure
this is not the end of the odyssey.
Merton A. Bobo
Name:USS Rendova
USS Rendova (CVE-114) was a Commencement Bay
Builder:Todd-Pacific Shipyards
class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was original-
Laid down:15 June 1944
ly assigned the name Mosser Bay and completed as the
Launched:29 December 1944
Willamette. She was laid down by Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc.,
Commissioned:22 October 1945
Tacoma, Washington, 15 June 1944; launched 29 December
Decommissioned:27 January 1950
Recommissioned:3 January 1951
Decommissioned:30 June 1955
Reclassified:Cargo Ship and Aircraft Ferry, AKV-14, 1959
Struck:1 April 1971
Homeport:San Diego
General characteristics
Class and type:Commencement Bay-class escort carrier
Displacement:10,900 long tons (11,100 t)
24,100 long tons (24,500 t) full load[1]
Length:557 ft (170 m)
Beam:75 ft (23 m)
Draft:32 ft (9.8 m)
Propulsion:2-shaft Allis-Chambers, geared turbines,
16,000 shp
Speed:19 knots (22 mph; 35 km/h)
Complement:1,066 officers and men
Armament:• 2 × 5 in (130 mm) guns (2×1)
• 36 × 40 mm AA guns
Aircraft carried:34
Service record
Part of:US Pacific Fleet (1945-50, 1951-55)
Pacific Reserve Fleet (1950-51, 1955-71)
Operations:Korean War (1951)
Operation Ivy (1952)
Awards:2 Battle stars (Korea)
1944; sponsored by Mrs. Anna-Marie H. Kurtz; and commissioned 22 October 1945, Capt. R. W. Ruble in command.
Commissioned too late for service in World War II, Rendova
completed shakedown in early January 1946, and reported for
duty with the 1st Fleet in February. During March, she conducted exercises off the west coast, but in April, her complement
was reduced to a maintenance crew.
Immobilized at San Diego for a year, she remained on the
active list as the administrative headquarters for Carrier Division 15 (CarDiv 15). In the spring of 1947, she returned to full
active duty and for the next year conducted training exercises
off the west coast and in the Hawaiian Islands.
USS Rendova continued....
On 1 April 1948, she departed San Francisco en route to Turkey
with a cargo of AT-6 training planes for that country’s air force.
Steaming via the Panama Canal, she arrived at Yesilkoy 28 April,
off loaded her cargo, and continued her voyage 4 May. She moved
south to Suez, thence crossed the Indian and Pacific Oceans. With
numerous good will visits en route, she returned to San Diego 1
July, only to depart again on another mission, this time to Tsingtao, on the 28th. After Tsingtao 23 August–27 August, she was
back in San Diego, her homeport, in late September and through
the fall trained on the west coast. With the new year, 1949, she again sailed west; operated
between Tsingtao and Okinawa until mid-April; then returned to
her homeport and resumed 1st Fleet training operations. In October, she arrived at Bremerton, where, after overhaul, she was
decommissioned, 27 January 1950, and berthed with the Pacific
Reserve Fleet.
Six months later the North Korean Army crossed the 38th Parallel
SAK ground forces; enforcing the U.N. blockade; rendering SAR
assistance; and flying armed and photo reconnaissance missions. On 17 November, the ship and the squadron established a
new sortie record for CVEs - 64.
Rendova completed her last support operation 6 Decem-
ber. By the 22nd, she was back at San Diego and with the new
year, 1952, she resumed west coast training operations with the
1st Fleet. In September, she sailed west again and for two months
participated in Operation “Ivy” - an atomic test series in the Marshalls, then she returned to California.
She continued her training activities off the west coast, and
in 1954 returned to the active fleet and another WestPac deployment, this time as a hunter-killer carrier. Back in California by
mid-June, she conducted exercises out of Long Beach until October, then shifted to Mare Island for pre-inactivation overhaul.
She reported to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Francisco Group,
2 February 1955 and was decommissioned 30 June. Reclassified
AKV-14 in 1959, she remained in the Reserve Fleet until struck
from the Navy list 1 April 1971.
and Rendova was ordered activated. Recommissioned 3 January
1951, she reported for duty in April and on 3 July steamed west.
She arrived at Yokosuka 2 August; underwent further training off
Okinawa; then on 20 September, arrived at Kobe to relieve USS
Sicily (CVE-118) as aircraft carrier unit under CTG 95.1.
On the 22nd, she completed embarking personnel, planes
(F4Us), and equipment of Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF) 212.
On the 23rd, she conducted carrier qualifications for the squadron.
On the 24th, she loaded ammunition and supplies at Sasebo and
on the 25th, she got underway for operating area “Nan” in the
Yellow Sea. There she relieved HMS Glory (R62) assuming CTE
95.11, and on the 26th, launched her first close air support sortie.
During the next months, she cruised off the west coast of Korea,
alternating with HMAS Sydney (R17) as CTE 95.11. VMF-212
recorded 1,743 sorties in support of ROK, U.S. Marine, and EU-
Rendova earned two battle stars for Korean war service.
Allan Gardner continued.........rest. That meant there was more than enough to pick up the extras for a whole lot more vets
who came on their own, and when Hefner’s money ran out, McCormick & Schmick’s picked up the tab for dozens more. By the end
of the day 500 vets from across the region had dined at the restaurant.
One of them was Adrienne Mohamed, a Navy RN during the Korean War. “We treated amputees and serious psychiatric cases,” she
said, telling me she’s slowed down a bit since recent heart surgery, but 2005 was “the year of my life.” Mohamed ran a marathon that
year, at 72, won medals for swimming, cycling, discus and horseshoes at the Veterans National Golden Age Games and hit “a $16,000
jackpot” in Vegas.
The free meal was like another little jackpot for the vets, Mohamed said, doubting that many of them had spent much time on Rodeo
Drive.
Gardner, who left Hamilton High School at 17 to fight in the Pacific, was happy that a handful of World War II vets showed up along
with those who served in Vietnam, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan. Of the 16.5 million who served during World War II, fewer than 2
million are still alive.
“We’ll be gone soon,” he said.
Next Tuesday, Gardner and G.G. will be back at the VA, making the rounds. He said he considers it “my payback” to those who served
and to those who take care of them.
“I am delighted to be able to do it.”
By Steve Lopez
November 10, 2010
A message from “Mage” ECSAA membership.
We all know the troops are thinning, however, we had 56 new shipmates join our organization in 2010.
Thank you to the shipmates who sent me names to send a Piper for possible membership.
This method works, so please keep doing it.
We are having more ships considering joining in with us for their reunions as their groups get less and it eliminates the work of organizing a reunion. We welcome you.
This year the USS Sicily and the USS Tripoli will have their reunions with many other CVEs who have their reunions with ECSAA.
Send me your reunion notices, names of shipmates departed for the Taps column, names of potential members and any items you want
to get in the Piper or on our web.
2011 I will be starting my 11th year as membership chairman. I have talked to many shipmates on the phone or email. It has been a
rewarding job and I enjoy hearing from you.
With that I want to say a HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our shipmates.
“Mage”
SPECIAL DVD
The Birth of the "CVE" Escort Carrier
Including the Guadalcanal and five Destroyer Escorts
The US Ships - Pillsbury, Chatelain, Pope, Flaherty & Jenks
Sailing as Task Group 22.3 under the command of
Daniel V. Gallery of the USS Guadalcanal
See the Capture of the German submarine U-505
The First Man-of-War Captured on the High Seas
Since the War of 1812!
ORDER NOW - For the low price of $7.95 including postage
Make checks payable to ECSAA
Send to: Mage Magerkurth, 13114 W. Blue Bonnet Drive,
Sun City West, AZ 85375
ECSAA is on the Internet
VISIT ECSAA’S Web Page At:
http://escortcarriers.com
Features include:
SHIP REUNIONS, DATES, CONTACTS
SHIP PHOTOS/HISTORIES
ECSAA MUSEUM DISPLAYS
SHIP ASSOCIATION CONTACTS
EMAIL LIST OF ECSAA MEMBERS
THE CVE PIPER
nF
Jo
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See you in Myrtle Beach, SC in 2011

Winter 2010/2011 - USS Natoma Bay CVE-62

Transcription

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